


A New Dawn

by Morganoire



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:08:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23841274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morganoire/pseuds/Morganoire
Summary: My interpretation of events during the Crimson Flower timeskip. I don’t own any of these characters or places!
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	A New Dawn

“You will not be forgiven!” Edelgard winced as the roar of the Immaculate One echoed in her memories. She recalled how the monastery had begun to crumble with the fury of the dragon’s attacks… and especially how she had been able to do nothing when the ground crumbled beneath Byleth, her dear teacher, and he vanished from her sight. Now, she stood in the same ruins, searching for what felt like the hundredth time.

“Lady Edelgard,” A sinister voice came from behind Edelgard and she already knew what Hubert was going to say. “As much as I regret to say so, we’ve been searching the monastery ruins almost every day since our professor’s disappearance. I am afraid that we will never find him.” Edelgard turned, and her brow furrowed as she looked up at her loyal retainer.

“I’m sorry, Hubert, but I will not give up. Not until I have concrete evidence that Byleth is gone. You may leave if you wish, but I’m staying here for a while longer.” A thought crossed Edelgard’s mind. “Actually, Hubert, I just remembered something. Could you give a report to Count Bergliez for me? Tell him that his preparations for launching an offensive on Gloucester territory should be nearly complete, and that he should try to convince their forces to join ours first. The fewer people who have to die, the better.”

“As you wish.” Hubert bowed and then muttered a spell under his breath, teleporting away. Edelgard was truly alone in the ruins now. “My teacher… where are you?”

“NO!” Edelgard awoke with a start. She hadn’t even realized that she’d fallen asleep amongst the rubble of the monastery. She closed her eyes and shook her head, shaking the image of one of her older brothers being tortured from her head. Edelgard stretched, and felt the ache of overworked muscles as she did. Edelgard had been moving rubble ever since Hubert had left, and she looked down at her hands, and although they were covered in dust and dirt, she still saw the scars on her wrists that served as painful reminders of the hideous parts of Fódlan that others were fortunate enough to not know about. She touched her wrists thoughtfully, remembering the chains that bound her in the dark underground all those years. Most of all, she remembered witnessing the torture, and deaths, of her siblings. All 11 of them. Edelgard felt a lump form in her throat and she reached for her red gloves and slipped them over her hands, hiding the pain of the past once more. She inhaled sharply and then slowly let out a sigh. She stood slowly and looked around. From the vantage point of the mountains, she could see so much. The great river to the south, the mountains of Faerghus in the distance, and the lands of the Adrestian Empire, where she called home. If only uniting Fódlan was as easy as it looks from up here. Of course, for that to happen, Dimitri and Claude would need to understand my aim and realize that my way of achieving it leads to the fewest deaths in the end. But they would never listen. I could say all I want and they’d never change their minds. The wind gently blew Edelgard’s hair about her shoulders, and the fresh mountain air provided her with a sense of calm. Despite Rhea’s words, Edelgard had a strange feeling that the goddess wasn’t punishing her from being at these sacred grounds. And as the sun rose to show the arrival of a new day, Edelgard turned back towards the Empire, ready to lead Fódlan into a new dawn of its own.

After meeting with Petra, the Princess of Brigid, Edelgard sighed and looked back at the stack of paperwork on the desk in front of her. She had already done quite a bit of it, yet so much remained.

“Hubert, while I finish here, could you tell…” Edelgard paused for a moment, wishing she didn’t have to say the next two words, but she continued anyway, “my uncle… that whatever he is waiting for in Faerghus is not going to happen, and that if it was going to, it’s taking too long and I need him to provide some form of attack against the Kingdom.” The man masquerading as her uncle had been waiting for something to happen, but Edelgard knew she couldn’t trust him, and needed to at least give herself the feeling that she was in control of him, not the other way around.

“As you command,” Hubert said, bowing and teleporting away once more. The moment he was gone, Edelgard stood to leave. She had saghert and cream, one of her favorite dishes (with others being sweet buns and peach sorbets, it was clear that she had a bit of a weakness for sweets), before she left for the monastery once more. The dish reminded her of bygone days at the academy with Byleth and her friends.

Upon arriving there, Edelgard opted to not move rubble, or at least not so much of it, on account of the journey there and how sore her muscles had been on the day she had fallen asleep at the monastery. I will never give up on you, my teacher… I will find you, I swear. Edelgard set about exploring the monastery once more, the passion in her heart refusing to relent.

Edelgard suddenly stopped. A small pebble tumbled onto the stone path in front of her. She looked at it for a moment before instinctively raising Aymr, her custom-made Relic, up next to her head. She heard the sound of an arrow bouncing off the axe, then turned to her right where the arrow had come from, swinging Aymr into the remains of the wall that stood next to her. She heard a muffled cry as the wall collapsed, crushing the archer underneath. Screams rose from beyond the pile and Edelgard’s eyes widened ever so slightly as she saw the veritable army of thieves that approached her. She swiftly beheaded the first thief that reached her and felt the power of her Crests surge as she readied for another swing. The thieves gasped, and a couple of them made to flee. Edelgard steadily marched forward, cutting a swath through the enemies and blocking the occasional arrow. She made all her strikes precisely, often going for the heads of the thieves or cutting their chests open. As blood spilled from each thief’s body, Edelgard felt her body tense from the familiar stench of it all. 

Nevertheless, she forged forward, the red of her armor and clothes somewhat hiding the blood from view. Not too much time had passed when she finally killed Pollardó, the leader of the thieves. Edelgard looked at the aftermath of the battle and a knot formed in her stomach. All this power that I never asked for… and this is all I can do with it. Edelgard felt she should properly dispose of the bodies, but she wasn’t quite sure how. At that moment, Hubert appeared at her side.

“Please, allow me to take care of this for you, Lady Edelgard.” A flame appeared above his hand, and Edelgard turned and ran. But no matter how far she ran, the familiar stench of burning dead bodies caught up to her. Edelgard huddled in her old dorm, with her hands pressed up against her face, shedding tears that would never, could never, be seen.

The Black Eagle Strike Force had taken up residence in the monastery, and everyone had been pitching in to clean it up. Edelgard had felt a lot better ever since she had told her former classmates to accompany her to the monastery. It wasn’t as busy as it had been when the archbishop was still there, but at least it wasn’t quite so empty, and its resources were being put to use. Seeing her classmates where they had all learned from Byleth and had spent peaceful days made Edelgard feel good and bad at the same time. Those days would never return, but she was still here, with her loyal friends, who were willing to help her achieve her goal of freeing Fódlan from the secrecy and control of the Church of Seiros. So much had changed, but so much still needed to. Edelgard knew that at the end of the month, they would advance on the Great Bridge of Myrrdin, and their offensive against the Alliance would officially begin. Edelgard wished that Byleth could be with them, but she also felt reinvigorated that more progress might actually be made, and that she could take the first steps to bringing Fódlan out of the darkness.

She stood at the entrance of the monastery, feeling anticipation for the coming weeks. Edelgard looked at the beautiful scenery all around her, the sun high in the cloudless sky, down at a small village below. In the world I seek, you will no longer be oppressed by the nobility, and you will be able to do things that you wouldn’t think possible under the current structure of things. Edelgard followed the path of the river that ran by the village, and followed it all the way until it reached the Great Bridge of Myrrdin, listening to the powerful rush of the river as it forged its way through the land. Edelgard closed her eyes and relaxed her shoulders, letting herself be at peace for a moment before being startled by footsteps on the stone in front of her. Edelgard took a sharp breath, and her mouth hung open for a brief moment when she saw the man approaching her. 

“It can’t be… Professor? Is it really you? But I searched everywhere and never found a trace.” His mint green hair and eyes glowed in the sun, or maybe that was just Edelgard’s emotions getting carried away. The sight of his stoic, calm face brought so much joy to Edelgard’s heart. Byleth was a quiet person not easily moved by emotion, but Edelgard thought she felt something stir in him when she stepped forward and hugged him, tears springing to her eyes. “Welcome back, my teacher. I’m so happy that you’re safe.” Now that Byleth was reunited with them - with her - again, Edelgard found new passion within herself, and felt that a united, free Fódlan was finally within reach.

**Author's Note:**

> This is similar to the Dimitri fic I recently posted, but I thought I’d write one for all the Edelgard fans out there! Hope you enjoyed!


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